Sept.4,2024
"Smith argued that there was no barrier to Singler being extradited in human rights law because crimes in the U.S. can be commuted by the governor. A life sentence, which Singler is almost certain to receive, should not be a barrier to extradition, he said.
"In America, if there's an executive clemency route, that is sufficient. It does not have to be a judicial route," Smith said.
Fitzgerald, who also acted for Julian Assange in his long-running extradition case in London, argued that it would be unlawful to extradite someone who faces life without parole without considering any mitigating factors.
The U.K. has 63 people under life sentences while the U.S. has 49,000, he said.
"It's totally alien to us ... to say 'I would sentence you to life without parole' simply because of the category of the offense, without considering any of the person's circumstances," he said.
"Here is a person with her first offense, a devoted mother, who does this out of the blue," he continued. "Are we to say that this mandatory imposition of this sentence of life without parole ... would be fine?"
The hearing is expected to last three days.'
cont
Kimberlee Singler, 36, is fighting extradition back to the U.S. after she was arrested in London. The bodies of her children, aged 7 and 9, were found at her Colorado Springs home in December.
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